


Four Times Bob Dropped Francine off at School, and One Time he Picked Her Up Instead

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: Family is Everything [5]
Category: Jersey Boys - Gaudio/Crewe/Brickman/Elice
Genre: 4+1 fic, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Family, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Parenthood, School
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 11:18:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8325727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: They have found themselves in a school time routine, until one day it changes.





	

4.

"You excited for your first day?" Frankie asked Francine as he buckled her into the car seat.

 

"Uh huh," Francine said, twisting her lopsided pigtails around her fingers, "Are you coming to drop me off, Daddy?"   
  
"Of course," Frankie answered, "We both are. Right Bobby?"   
  
Bob startled slightly at being addressed. He'd walked outside with the thought of just seeing Frankie off and returning to his piano.    
  
"Um, yeah," Bob stuttered out, then cleared his throat, "I mean, yes of course I am."

 

"Yay!" Francine clapped her hands together, clearly excited about her new school.   
  
Frankie passed the car keys over to Bob and they both climbed in. 

 

"So what subject are you looking forward to the most?" asked Frankie as Bob carefully pulled out of the driveway.    
  
"All of them!" exclaimed Francine.    
  
Frankie chuckled, "That's great, sweetie. I'm sure you'll have buckets of fun."

 

"Bobby?"   
  
"Hmm?"   
  
"You okay?" Frankie asked.   
  
"Oh... Yeah I'm fine," Bob replied hastily.

 

Frankie reached over to place his hand on Bob's knee and squeezed gently. Before he could lift it, Bob rested his hand on top of Frankie's, turning it over and interlacing their fingers. They stayed that way in comfortable silence as Francine hummed to herself in the back seat, only letting go when Frankie needed both hands on the wheel to make the particularly sharp turn into the school parking lot.

 

"Daddy, will you come inside with me?" Francine asked, her voice suddenly soft and nervous.    
  
Frankie looked back at her with a reassuring smile, "No problem."   
  
Bob pulled the car up to the drop off lane. Frankie cast him a questioning look, but Bob just smiled softly.    
  
"Go on and take her inside," Bob said, "I'll wait here and make sure the car doesn't get towed for sitting too long."   
  
"Bobby..." Frankie started, then sighed.    
  
He gave Bob a look that said they were going to talk about this once he got back.    
  
"Alright, Francie let's go in."   
  
When the other two had left the car, Bob let out a shuddering breath. There was still a lot that they were adjusting to in the house and still every once in awhile Bob found himself overwhelmed. He was so lost in his own thoughts that he didn't even notice Frankie climbing back into the car until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

 

Bob jerked slightly at the touch, "Francine's all settled in with her class, I'm sure she's gonna be fine."

 

"Good," murmured Bob, "That's great."   
  
"Bobby, I can tell there's something wrong," Frankie said.    
  
"Not wrong, per se," Bob said, giving the school a security guard a small wave as she gestured for them to pull away and let other parents drop off their kids.    
  
"But?" prompted Frankie.

 

"It's just..." Bob sighed, "I..." He thought back on everything they had done that morning.

 

This was his life now, Frankie was a father and Bob? Well he wasn't quite sure where he fit into the equation.

 

"It's alright," Frankie assured after the extended moment of silence. He wanted nothing more than to pull Bob into his arms and reassure him if his place in their new life with Francine. Since Bob was driving, Frankie had to settle for kissing his fingers and then pressing them to Bob's lips.

 

3.

Bob's favorite way to wake up was slowly, preferably with Frankie in his arms or vice versa. Today he only had one of those goals. Frankie was snuggled tightly against him, which was quite nice, but he woke suddenly with a sharp intake of breath.

 

He looked to see the time on the clock on his nightstand, clearly has alarm had not gone off.   
  
"Bobby!"   
  
Bob looked to see Francine standing at the doorway book bag in hand. Bob barely stopped himself from cursing aloud. They were going to be late. At least Francine was old enough to dress herself, although the patterns of her shirt and skirt didn't exactly match or go well together. There wasn't really time to do anything about it.    
  
"I'm up," he said, "Right, okay."   
  
He pulled himself out of bed, sadly and reluctantly removing Frankie's arms from his waist.    
  
"Bobby I need my lunch," Francine reminded him.   
  
"I know, I know," Bobby sighed as he went about getting his clothes, "I'll be downstairs in a moment."

 

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment as if she expected him to simply go back to sleep the moment she left, but in the end she retreated downstairs.    
  
"Bobby?" Frankie mumbled, his voice sleepy.    
  
"Everything's good," Bob assured, leaning over to press a kiss to Frankie's forehead, "Sleep. I'll take care of Francine."   
  
Frankie didn't need very much convincing and soon fell back to sleep. He'd only gotten home from his gig a few short hours ago, so he was rather exhausted. 

 

Bob pulled on a shirt and his pants, stopping in the bathroom to splash some water on his face and make an attempt of taming his hair. When he came downstairs Francine was sitting at the table waiting for her breakfast.

 

"Cereal okay?" Bob asked, even as he was already pulling out one of Francine's plastic bowls.    
  
"Rice Krispies," requested Francine.

 

As requested Bob filled Francine's bowl with Rice Krispies as poured milk on top, he couldn't help but smile as he watched her wait briefly for the characteristic "Snap, crackle, pop!" that followed.

 

A glance at the clock showed that he couldn't really spend time watching Francine be adorable. Bob was usually on lunch making duty, so it was easy for him to piece it together.

 

Making sure there was enough peanut butter to the proper jelly ratio Bob carefully cut off Francine's crusts just the way she liked.

 

"Finished," Francine announced just as Bob was slicing apple wedges.    
  
"Brush your teeth," he told her, "Make sure one more time that you've got everything you need and put on your shoes."

 

"Okay," Francine came down from her chair and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth.

 

Bob finished making lunch, tucking in a napkin and clicking the bright green lunch box closed. 

 

"Okay, Francine are you ready to go?" Bob asked as Francine returned teeth brushed and shoes on her feet.

 

After a quick stop to tighten the Velcro straps of her sneakers, Bob was ushering Francine out to the car, her small backpack hooked over his shoulder.

 

2.

"Francine, wouldn't you like to bring something else for show and tell?" Bob asked for what was probably the fifteenth time since the night before. Now they were getting ready to head to school and Francine's answer still hadn't changed.    
  
"No."

 

Bob sighed as he looked at the inflatable crocodile Tommy had given her over the summer.   
  
"You know you could take Murphy," Bob suggested the teddy bear that Francine tended to cling to.   
  
"I don't wanna," Francine shook her head.

 

Bob held in another hearty sigh.    
  
"Alright then," he said finally, "Go say bye to Daddy while I get this thing in the car."   
  
"His name is Walter," Francine informed him, then went to find Frankie.

 

"Walter..." Bob muttered as he tried to figure out how to stick the plastic monstrosity in the car.

 

There was no way he would be putting the inflatable crocodile in the front seat and it was definitely too long to put on Francine's lap. She had outright refused to have it deflated for the short drive, so Bob was forced to fold down the back seat to make the stupid thing fit.

 

"I knew you could do it," Francine grinned as she went to get into the car.

 

As he drove to the school, Bob kept glancing back at that stupid crocodile with its perpetual grin and yellow eyes just staring at him. It was unnerving.

 

And once they got there Francine was urging him to hurry up so she wouldn't be late as he tried to extract the inflated reptile from the car.   
  
"You're like the crocodile hunter!" One of Francine's classmates called out as he went past.

 

In his head, Bob cursed Tommy. Why had he even gotten Francine this ridiculous thing? Eventually, he was able to wrangle the crocodile free. It's tooth-baring grin seemed to taunt him.    
  
"Oh, shut up," Bob grumbled at it before handing it over to Francine.    
  
The crocodile dwarfed her, but she tucked it comfortably under her arm.

 

"You got it alright?" Bob asked.   
  
"Yup!" Francine replied cheerfully.   
  
At least he knew he wouldn't have To stick it in the car at the end of the day, that would be Frankie's problem.   
  


 

1.

Bob was already waiting in the car with the engine running when Frankie sent Francine out the front door. He caught a small glimpse of her outfit, flaring out underneath her peacoat, but it wasn't much more than a flash of red.    
  
"Ready for Heritage Day?" Bob asked, making sure that she had properly clicked in before pulling down the drive.    
  
Frankie's mother had made Francine a traditional Italian dress for the occasion.

 

"Yup!" Francine chirped as she got into the backseat having long since figured out the car seat herself.

 

"Do you know what other cultures are going to be there?"   
  
"Nathan's family is from South Africa," said Francine, "and I think that Kimmi is Japanese."   
  
"That's really cool," Bob told her. He was still a little awkward around Francine when it was just the two of them, but it had definitely gotten a lot better over the past weeks.    
  
"Yeah," agreed Francine, nodding vigorously.

 

She continued to chatter throughout the entire car ride, telling Bob all the different facts she had learned about her Italian roots that she would be relating to her classmates later that day. He simply had to nod and make small humming noises at the appropriate points to keep her going.    
  
Soon, they were pulling into the school parking lot. Bob stopped at the drop off point and helped Francine get out of the car before crouching down to her level.    
  
"Now, let me see that beautiful dress, hm?"   
  
Francine undid the buttons of her peacoat and proudly displayed the red and white dress for Bob to admire.    
  
"You look beautiful," Bob assured her, smoothing out a wrinkle in the skirt.    
  
One of her braids had come loose and Bob began to redo it.    
  
"I wish you could come," Francine said softly as Bob braided.    
  
Parents were invited to come to the multicultural lunch and bring a dish from their heritage to share with the rest of the class. Frankie would be coming in for that, but Bob had booked a recording session before they had found out about the event. He would have postponed it, but the client he was writing the jingle for had only just agreed on the latest version and he (the client) insisted that he  needed to get it recorded immediately.    
  
"I know me too," Bob told her, "but I have to go to work. You'll have to tell me all about it tonight at dinner."   
  
Francine continued to pout slightly while Bob finished the braid and tied it off with a bow in ribbon he same red color as the dress.    
  
"Hug?" Bob asked as he held his arms out expectantly.    
  
The hugging wasn't a new thing, but Bob was still surprised at the level of ferocity with which Francine attached herself to him, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. He startled for a brief moment, but of course he returned her embrace.    
  
"Have a great day," Bob said when they parted, helping Francine put on her backpack, "and I'll expect a full report tonight. Deal?"   
  
"Deal," Francine agreed.    
  
Just as Bob was about to rise to a standing position again, Francine darted forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek before running off to the school building.

 

As he watched her disappear through the door, Bob's shocked expression morphed into a huge grin.    
  
  


0.

 

It was Francine’s birthday and Frankie was preparing a little surprise with Tommy and Nick, so Bob had been tasked with picking up Francine from school. He was gripping the steering wheel so tight that his fingers had turned white. Why this made him so nervous he couldn’t say. And being around Francine just tended to feel awkward--although it was much better than it had been--she was a good kid but something always felt strange when she called Frankie “Daddy” and just called him Bobby. 

 

Bob turned into the lot at Francine’s school and parked the car, getting out he walked straight past the parade of soccer moms in their active wear, with their bleached blonde hair, spray tans and and mini-vans. It was a half day, so there were still a lot of kids and families milling about. Thankfully he managed to slip past them as he went inside in search of Francine’s classroom. “1B, 1B… It’s got to be around here somewhere,” Bob muttered as he walked.

 

Upon finding it he hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open, there were a few other kids waiting as well and Francine was happily working on some sort of drawing. Bob started to walk towards her when he was stopped by a woman with mousy brown hair held back with a headband.

 

“Hello, I’m Ms. Miller are you picking someone up?” The teacher asked, she had a clipboard in hand.

 

“Yeah,” Bob nodded, “Francine Casteullccio.”

 

“Oh,” Ms. Miller scanned her list and about a quarter of the way down on the first page she found what she was looking for, “are you her uncle?”

 

Bob began to blush and get flustered, “No, I’m her father’s partner-” Funny when saying it like that he couldn’t help but notice that it sounded a little strange to him.

 

“His business partner?”

 

“No,” Bob blushed even more and shook his head.

 

“He’s like Daddy’s boyfriend!” Francine chirped as she walked over to them with her drawing in hand.

 

“I should be on there,” Bob began, “my name is Bob Gaudio.”

 

Miss Miller glanced down at her list again, “Alright, mind if I see your license? For security purposes?”

 

“Sure,” Bob replied taking his license out of his wallet and handing it to Francine’s teacher.

 

“We’re doing a project!” Francine declared and held the drawing in her hand out to Bob as he got his license back from Ms. Miller.

 

“Perhaps you can help? We’re doing “My Family” portraits,” Ms. Miller explained.

 

Bob looked down at the unfinished drawing, in the middle Francine had drawn herself. To one side she had drawn Frankie and had written “Daddy” underneath, to the other side she had drawn what he figured was him, instead of writing Bobby she had written “Papa”.

 

“I’m not done,” Francine explained, “I still need Uncle Nicky and Uncle Tommy, and Mommy, and Nonna-”

 

Bob couldn’t  believe it, in all this time Francine had never called him that or any sort of variation of it. He had almost begun to think that it was never going to change, “I’m sure it will be great,” he beamed.

 

Bob and Francine then walked out of school hand in hand past some of Francine’s classmates and their parents.

 

“Franci where’s your Daddy?” One of the girls asked.

 

“Daddy is busy, this is my Papa!” Francine declared, Bob couldn’t recall a moment ever feeling so proud than this one.

 

“It’s so great that you gays can adopt children now,” one of the mothers commented with a smile.

 

And just like that the moment was gone, all thanks to the lady in the hot pink jogging suit. Bob let out a sigh as he directed Francine towards the car. He knew this would be one of those moments that he would think of a witty comeback… Much, much, later.


End file.
